In a report to the CQC board meeting in May, CQC chief executive Cynthia Bower said: ‘We can confirm that dedicated "out of hours" services providers will be the first batch to register and we expect applications for these to open in October 2011.’

Details of timing for other primary care medical services will follow later this month, but the April deadline will remain the same.

‘The deadline for registration is 1 April 2012 and this is set in legislation,’ a CQC spokeswoman told GPonline.com.

The CQC has proposed some changes to its plans for registration of primary care medical services to the DoH.

‘The aim is to try and improve the process for GPs,’ Ms Bower’s report said.

The changes also aim ‘to ensure registration is more closely aligned with accreditation schemes,’ the CQC said.

The CQC said it would ensure providers have enough time to prepare for registration and there are no plans to change the scope of registration.